Catalog of Shōdan: Closing Chants
Noriji
The name refers to a text set in ōnori style. As such, any shōdan set in ōnori can be classified as noriji as well, Hashitomi's Kiri being a good example. Laden with energy and often accompanied by taiko, Noriji appears in the second act, near the conclusion, often after the main dance.
A text setting in ōnori has one syllable per beat. The first syllable of each line of text comes on the second or second beat-and-half. The text is commonly divided into two asymmetric hemistiches of 5 + 3, or 3 + 5 syllables, although it is sometimes symmetrically divided in two hemesitiches of 4 + 4 syllables.
Here is the example from Kokaji's Noriji 1:
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Ne ga wa + ku wa Mu ne chi ka + wa ta ku shi no Ko o myo o ni + a ra zu Fu te n + so o to no Cho ku me i ni + yo re ri Sa a ra ba + ji i po o Go o sha no + sho ji n Ta da i ma no + mu ne chi ka ni Chi ka ra wo + a wa se te Ta bi ta ma + e to te |
3 + 2 4 + 5 5 + 3 3 + 4 5 + 3 4 + 4 4 + 3 5 + 5 4 + 4 4 + 3 |
There are three Noriji in Kokaji. Since the main character is so energetic the first Noriji can be heard fairly early, leading to the entrance music Hayafue. The second Noriji leads into the instrumental dance Maibataraki, which is then followed by the third Noriji. As it is often the case with the Noriji, all three include a taiko part, whose cycles of rhythmic patterns help articulate the shōdan's structure.
Kokaji's first Noriji starts with the waki delivering a transition phrase, bridging it with the preceding Notto. Then, the jiutai sings the chant accompanied by the three percussion instruments. The third Noriji is also accompanied by the three percussion instruments but sung by the jiutai with two utterances delivered by the shite.
Kokaji's second Noriji featured in this video, is sung by the jiutai accompanied by the three percussion instruments. It is the only one that includes a nohkan’s part, as if the takane hane pattern was anticipating the dance to come. To help appreciate the complexity between the hayashi's four parts, the second Noriji is presented at three different speeds: the original, at 75%, and at 50% of the original speed.